BioShock

allows the player to become one with the world of the game; the game, in turn, is able to influence the player to believe certain things about their existence or their surroundings. In the 2007 game BioShock, the player enters a world that has fallen due to both a failed philosophical system and a rapid technological increase of genetic enhancement that ruined the population. As the story progresses, the player is forced to either spare or harvest brainwashed little girls who hold the genetic key to the genetic manipulation the player desires. And even though the main character appears to be a male in his late twenties, it becomes clear that he is simply a rapidly grown science experiment; only a few years old, he has all the appearance of a man, but is manipulated like a child. For my synthesis paper, I plan to take this game and its successors apart piece by piece to examine the statements being made about genetic engineering, its relationship with political philosophy, and most defining fear associated with relationship: the fear of being manipulated by others for their own agendas. My methodology while researching this project led me down several paths that I hope to connect through the medium of the manipulative narrative of this game. It is this manipulation that allows BioShock to make such a powerful statement about using genetic enhancement for a socio-political agenda and exploiting naïve minds for the purpose of technological or moral advancement. During my…

It brings about changes such as increased life expectancy, literacy, gender equality, and bringing a natural equilibrium. Leading to how the video game series Bioshock is being used in a contemporary society, is how the player portrays the choices within the game, is portrayed by their outlooks, beliefs, and experiences throughout their life and what they believe would be beneficial through the character’s storyline of free will, choice, and personal responsibility. The video game acts as an…

brain’s reward system. Dopamine is known to produce feelings of pleasure, happiness, and other “feel good” emotions when released, which further supports the notion that video games do in fact elicit emotional responses—even if it is all in your head. But dopamine isn’t the only chemical that video games are known to release. A game’s compelling characters and events spark brain activity as well, releasing the bonding chemical called oxytocin. Not only does this chemical create a bond between…

This lesson can be learned from Ryan himself. He began by looking for a place to truly be free. A place that will let science, art, and capitalize be free to grow. However, the unregulated market caused a huge gap between the rich and the poor. This increased criminal activity. The Ethic-free science explorations lead to unsafe and addictive product being released to the population. Free to express themselves, artist began to push themselves further. They began to distort and twist human corpses…

BioShock infinite ending Dewitt makes a choice to either accept or refuse baptism after the battle at Wounded Knee In one universe he refuses, becomes a pinkerton who sells his daughter, and leads the Vox Populi rebellion to a bloody victory over Comstock In another he accepts baptism, changes his name to Zachary Hale Comstock, and teams up with the female scientist to create Columbia Due to heavy experimentation Comstock becomes infertile and is unable to have kids With help of the…

It has been more than five decades since “The Twilight Zone” aired on CBS, a groundbreaking TV show that combined the elements of science fiction, drama and fantasy. Popular for being ahead of its times, the creation of Rod Serling was hailed by critics and the audience also loved its twist and turns. And now the cult classic is back to the TV screens but with a difference. As per reports of The Wrap, CBS intends to bring some more twists while keeping the soul of the original series intact. It…

Well, many videogames need violence to tell their stories. Let us take a look at one of the greatest stories in all of video games, the story of Bioshock. Set in the 1960’s in the underwater utopia of Rapture, a city built on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean to be a haven of expression and objectivism by business mogul Andrew Ryan, Bioshock is a first person shooter entailing the arduous adventure of Jack (the player character). Jack is trapped in Rapture after his airplane explodes over the city…

was that they did not believe in this religion or any religion whatsoever. As you can see, people will make up any ridiculous reason to get a book overly censored over even banned altogether. Finally, let’s go over the censorship of other forms of media. While some people would say that the other forms of media I have not mentioned should be censored, they have no real reason for saying this. First, let’s talk about a ban in Qatar, the ban being on the game Bioshock Infinite. Now, the reason…

Can Videogames be considered art? "No Gods or Kings, only Man." This is a quote from Bioshock a first person shooter about a underwater city, but besides the fact that it’s a first person shooters it also features certain elements that make it art and videogames in general include these elements as well so shouldn’t they be considered art? Videogames should be considered art because they include traditional forms of artistic expression, can make of an experience personal or meaningful, and are a…

versus emotion, but accept emotions as reasoning. She is a firm supporter of rational egoism (the belief that people ought to do what’s in their best self-interest) over psychological egoism (the belief that people can only act in their own self-interest). If people were driven to serve their own needs since the very beginning, would that not mean every one of us, whether we’re socialists, capitalists, or anarchists, were already living the kind of selfish life she asks of us? If that were…